2020 NBA Offseason - The Draft Lottery
The Golden State Warriors entered the 2020 NBA Draft lottery with the best odds at obtaining the top overall pick, with the Pistons, Timberwolves, Cavaliers and Knicks falling in behind them in the top 5.
The full draft order is below (original odds in parenthesis), but the draft lottery story is below.
After the Kings, Pelicans and Trail Blazers held true to form at 12-14, the Spurs were the first lottery shock, jumping into the top four. The Wizards, Suns and Bulls all fell into line until at eight, the Hornets made their own jump into the top four.
With the Hornets and Spurs leaping ahead, the Knicks lottery woes continued, as they fell to the seventh pick, one ahead of the Hawks at eight, after entering with the fifth best odds at the top pick.
The Cavaliers and Timberwolves also saw their luck run out, as the teams who entered with the fourth and third best odds, respectively, dropped to the sixth and fifth picks.
That left the Spurs, Hornets, Pistons and Warriors as potential winners of the top pick.
San Antonio would be the first name drawn, jumping from 11 all the way to four. The Warriors, who had the best odds, dropped down to third, before the Hornets snagged the second pick, up from eight, and the Pistons, who had the second best odds, jumped into the top spot.
The clear winners were the Spurs and Hornets, with the Knicks being perhaps the, Cavs and Timberwolves being the biggest losers.
While the Warriors were disappointed to drop to third, the organization still felt confident that they’d be able to land one of the three best players in the draft and retool as they look to contend for a championship.
| NBA Draft - Round 1 Recap |
| Pick | Team | Player | Pos | Ht | Wt |
| 1 (2) | Pistons | | | | |
| 2 (8) | Hornets | | | | |
| 3 (1) | Warriors | | | | |
| 4 (11) | Spurs | | | | |
| 5 (3) | Timberwolves | | | | |
| 6 (4) | Cavaliers | | | | |
| 7 (5) | Knicks | | | | |
| 8 (6) | Hawks | | | | |
| 9 (7) | Bulls | | | | |
| 10 (9) | Suns | | | | |
| 11 (10) | Wizards | | | | |
| 12 | Trail Blazers | | | | |
| 13 | Pelicans | | | | |
| 14 | Kings | | | | |
| 15 | Magic | | | | |
| 16 | Timberwolves (via BKN) | | | | |
| 17 | Celtics (via MEM) | | | | |
| 18 | Bucks (via IND) | | | | |
| 19 | Mavericks | | | | |
| 20 | Nuggets (via HOU) | | | | |
| 21 | Thunder (via DEN) | | | | |
| 22 | Thunder | | | | |
| 23 | Nets (via PHI) | | | | |
| 24 | Heat | | | | |
| 25 | Jazz | | | | |
| 26 | Raptors | | | | |
| 27 | Celtics | | | | |
| 28 | Celtics (via MIL) | | | | |
| 29 | Lakers | | | | |
| 30 | Knicks (via LAC) | | | | |